Breathe
by Robert the Gay Reporter
Summary: I'm sorry. They could be such painful words. They were the last thing he wanted to hear from Scorpius. Now Albus felt as if he could barely breathe. Albus/Scorpius oneshot


**A/N- This was written for the Taylor Swift challenge in the Harry Potter Challenges forum. My song was Breathe. :) I hope you like it!**

**Breathe**

"I'm sorry."

That was the first thing Scorpius said when Albus stopped him in the corridor. They were on their way to the start of term banquet and Scorpius had been avoiding him all train ride long. He thought maybe Scorpius had been doing his duties as prefect and helping the first year Ravenclaws. Those two words were the last thing he expected. Albus felt like his whole world was being torn apart.

"What do you mean? Sorry about what?" he asked.

Scorpius sighed. "I can't do this. I can't do us. I think we should go our separate ways."

"What? Scor…" Albus whispered. "When we started dating we promised never to let our parents get in between us."

"It's not that. Trust me, it's for the better." Scorpius looked to the Great Hall doors, trying to assess how quickly he could maneuver through students and get to the Ravenclaw table. "I'm sorry, Albus. Take care of yourself."

Scorpius darted off to join the other Ravenclaws and Albus was left alone in the corridor full of students. He could feel his world crashing down around him. He couldn't move. He couldn't think. He couldn't even breathe. Rose stopped next to him.  
"You all right?" she asked.

Wordlessly, Albus nodded and walked over to the Slytherin table. He collapsed on the bench and stared blankly ahead. His fellow Slytherins kept trying to start a conversation, but he ignored them all. Finally, they stopped trying and left Albus to wallow in his misery. Scorpius kept looking over at Albus guiltily. Before dessert even appeared on the table, Albus got up and left the Great Hall.

Once he was in the dungeons, far away from prying eyes, he let the tears fall. He sobbed and sobbed until somebody burst in through the door. Strong arms wrapped around his skinny frame. Looking up, he saw James's blurry figure through his tears. Lorcan Lovegood, a Slytherin a year above Albus, was standing quietly behind him.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Scorpius," Albus choked out.

James helped Albus up. "Let's get you to your dorm and tell me what happened."

Once in the sixth year dorms, James sat them down and Albus told his older brother everything. James's jaw tightened and his hands curled up into fists.

"I'll kill him." James muttered. "Better yet. I'll send Lily and Roxanne after him."

"Don't." Albus said sternly.

"He hurt you!" James exclaimed.

Albus smiled sadly. "And I love him. Please, James. Promise me you won't do anything to him."

James sighed in defeat. "Fine… Should I tell Lorcan and Louis to keep you company? I have to go to the Head Boy briefing."

"Go. I'll be fine." Albus said reassuringly. "I'm going to sleep now, anyway."

James nodded and left. Albus saw him thank Lorcan for letting him in before leaving. The elder Lovegood brother knew better than to try to comfort Albus. Instead, he left towards the seventh year dorms. Albus collapsed backwards onto his bed. The others would be arriving soon. No doubt they'd have questions. Nothing that couldn't wait until morning, Albus decided before rolling over and falling asleep.

Later that night, Albus woke with a start. He reached over for Scorpius's body, but found nothing better. Feeling the stinging in his eyes, Albus remembered. Scorpius wouldn't have sneaked out of the Ravenclaw dorms tonight. Why would he? He certainly wasn't going to keep Albus company. He rolled out of bed and stumbled towards the bathroom. He weakly changed out of his uniform and sat on the floor to think.

Three years. Three wonderful years. They'd had four wonderful years together only for Scorpius to ruin it overnight. Albus knew the chances of the two of them having a life long relationship were slim, but he'd still hoped that someday they'd be facing each other and saying 'I do.' He thought he'd been prepared for this. A Malfoy and a Potter together was doomed for disaster. Albus Potter had thought he was ready to face the worst of breakups with the boy he loved. But he wasn't. Even the smallest of breaks were painful. He should have known that from years of Quidditch. Yet here he was, holding back tears on the bathroom floor. He quietly promised himself to be strong and begin the long, painful process of moving on.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP 

"I'm sorry. I never meant you hurt you." Scorpius called out Albus the next evening.

They were both using the Quidditch pitch to get some extra practice before try-outs. So far, they'd had a silent agreement not to speak to ach other. Scorpius broke the silence with his apology.

"You never meant to hurt me?" Albus landed and stood upright so he could yell better. "You broke my heart, but it's okay because _you never meant to hurt me._"

"It was for the best. You're a Potter. I'm a Malfoy. This would have never worked. I just chose to end it before it crashed and burned."

Albus felt like he couldn't breathe. "You promised we'd never let our parents get in the way. You promised!"

"I'm sorry. It's better this way, Albus."

"You really don't get it, do you?" Albus voice was barely a whisper, but Scorpius could hear it's deadly tone perfectly well. "It's your fault. You're the one who crashed and burned."

Albus turned on his heel and walked away. Scorpius's face fell. Their was no chance between them now. They couldn't even be friends.

"I'm sorry!" Scorpius called out.

"It's too late now, Malfoy."

**A/N- Aww, :( Things never go right for the Potters and the Malfoys, huh? A review would make my day :) **


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